Kulemin : Pittsburgh get a good defensive player who can play on the Malkin line (Kulemin-Malkin-Neal) , will help this line get more time on the offensive zone . He can also play on the PK .

Niskanen : A good player who seems to be on his prime . He can help on the scoring department (Good shot and ability to start the offensive play) and he can be good on the defense if he play with a defensive player or a physical one .

Jeffrey : Staying in pittsburgh is killing his NHL career . He is a good defensive C/W (Type of player who never make big defensive mistake) . He can replace Kulemin .

My goodness, why can people not grasp the concept that hes not a NHL regular because hes not good enough? Not because, Bylsma hates him, not because he hasnt gotten a fair shot, its simply because hes a borderline NHL player.

God, there have been so many of these proposals that I've almost starting to root for Kulemin to end up in Pittsburgh myself. Niskanen/Jeffrey isn't insulting, but it stands no chance of getting Kulemin in a Penquin uniform anytime soon.

My goodness, why can people not grasp the concept that hes not a NHL regular because hes not good enough? Not because, Bylsma hates him, not because he hasnt gotten a fair shot, its simply because hes a borderline NHL player.

Crosby, Malkin, Sutter, Vitale. Jokinen also in case of a top6 injury. We have the best starting C's in the league by far, and that obviously makes it hard for a natural C like Jeffrey to show his value. His skating suffers at wing and he isn't going to be a banger on the boards. He is rather like Sutter in that his best quality is his cerebral game. Positioning, puck management, pasning game, good offensive instincts. Sutter is however a lot faster. Away from the Pens, Jeffrey will prove himself just like Letestu did.

If one doesn't see Niskanen as a fit on the Leafs defense (and I wonder how expendable Scuderi's injury makes him right now), then Jokinen definitely fits a need.

Unlike Jeffrey or sliding Kessel/Raymond, in Jokinen you'd get someone who can play 2C for a short period (like he did last year for the Pens with Crosby out), slide up and down the lineup at C or W, and currently has a goal total than would tie him for 2nd of the Leafs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tender Rip

KIRK..... for heavens sake! You have repeated that 100 times now in different threads. Toronto are not looking for a long term solution at C, and if they were, they would want someone other than Jokinen. The benefit of Jokinen is that he can also perform on the wing, but that is the last thing Toronto needs.

For all the reasons why JJ would be attractive to Toronto, I'd want to keep him. I recognize that Kulie is likely a better fit than JJ on Malkin's line. But love the versatility that JJ brings to the team in general. He's good/great on draws, can score, and play W/C anywhere in the top 9.

JJ is versatile enough that should we have an injury in the top 6, he can fit anywhere there and likely not really be out of place. Kulemin doesn't provide that.

But for those same reasons, I would think that he's very attractive to Toronto. JJ can play as the #2C, but could easily play as a top 6 winger, or a 3rd line winger. Not quite as defensive or physical as Kulie, but easily more offensive.

Recognizing the cap situation, I'd try and wait for Scuderi to get healthy, and move Niskanen. If that's not an option, I'd move Niskanen anyway if possible to have the cap relief to acquire Kulemin and retain JJ.

__________________I've been looking for trouble... but trouble hasn't been cooperating!

Right now I'm not sure Kulemin adds enough to the lineup to justify the fact that he'd more than likely push Bennett onto the fourth line...barring a really long-term Neal injury I think we'd just have too many people in the middle 6. I think our best bet would be to wait until the offseason to make a run at Kulemin. If Orpik and Jokinen walk, the Pens would be in a position to give him a pretty good offer.

Kulemin needs to stay in Toronto, but if for some reason we can't afford him I'd like to see him play for the Pens. Not sure what the Penguins could ultimately offer but I could definitely see a scenario break out there.

As a Pens fan, I would definitely do the deal in the OP, and I would do a Jokinen for Kulemin swap. Mostly because I don't see either of Niskanen or Jokinen being long-term fixtures in Pittsburgh while Kulemin would round out the top-nine very nicely whether he played with Malkin or on the third line with Sutter.

I'd be surprised if Toronto did either deal though. Either way, I hope Shero targets him in free agency.